The Board has decided that the Veteran's current right shoulder disability is not service-connected due to inadequate medical evidence. The case is being remanded for further evaluation and clarification of whether his left shoulder disability aggravates his right shoulder disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran’s service-connected left shoulder disability aggravates his current right shoulder disability, which is a necessary step in determining service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Disability, Left Shoulder Disability
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19179759
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70% rating for PTSD from November 25, 2015 to August 12, 2024 and a 40% rating for the right shoulder disability. It also granted 10% ratings for both feet and 20% ratings for knee patellofemoral pain syndromes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The character of the appellant's uncharacterized discharge is not a bar to the receipt of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits; to this extent only, the claim is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including PTSD, IBS, cardiac arrhythmia, CFS, chronic headaches, chronic sinusitis, dyspnea, and fibromyalgia. The claim for bilateral pes planus was remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, a low back disability, a left knee disability, and a left shoulder disability as there was no evidence to support that these conditions were incurred in or caused by the Veteran's military service.
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